The Moon's Winter
by Theresalwaysthatone
Summary: Only a few years after the Darkness of Dragons, Moonwatcher finds herself alone, and needs to find someone else to be with her. Very much a one-shot, made to vent and to keep myself occupied. Minor spoilers for the second arc.


_Crack!_ The clap of thunder tore through the air, only moments after a blinding bolt ripped the sky apart. A fierce wind howled through the night air, bringing a new burst of droplets with it. The three moons were nowhere to be seen, hidden by the thick cloud cover. Another burst of lightning snaked through the air, revealing towering mountains and a lake surrounded by forest. And then it was gone, enveloped by the darkness, the lighting only an afterimage. The clouds lit up again as more lighting crackled, this one hidden in the clouds. The dull light from it showed the silhouette of a dragon, walking. The dragon padded along the muddy lakeside, the wet dirt and pebbles sinking under the dragon's weight, leaving a trail of muddy footprints. Rain ran down its snout, dripping off the slight beak it had. The emerald-green eyes shone in the dark, a silver teardrop scale under each eye. In the darkness of the night, the dragon almost blended in, her black scales and star-speckled wings making her nearly invisible. She had flown almost all day, at a fast pace too, and was exhausted. So she decided to walk the rest of the way instead of flying over the lake. Her destination; a group of huts nestled in the forest on the other side of the lake. Another crack of lightning, and then she was at the edge of the forest. She took a deep breath, and let it out with difficulty. She was standing on the beginning of a cobbled path. She started walking down it, her talons scraping on the rocks. She shivered with nervousness, and briefly wondered if it was a good idea. There was three huts, one on the left, right, and further ahead in the center. Two of them had thoughts emitting from it, echoing in her mind, the left one was silent. She took the left one. The huts were made with the typical Rainwing style, except suited for the ground. Wood walls and foundations, with thatch roofs. There were windows on the walls, although this particular hut had theirs shut, only a dull orange glow escaping. She lifted her paw to knock, then hesitated. She stood there for a moment, then made up her mind.  
 _thump thump thump._ The noise echoed from the door, no doubt heard from the occupant. The sound of locks unlocking made it to her, and then the door opened. A tired Icewing stood there, exhausted from various research and studies he was in the middle of doing. Even in his state, he still radiated an air of power. Royalty even. As soon as the Icewing saw who was at the door, his tired look was replaced with shock. "Moon?... Moon… is that you?..." The Nightwing soaked in rain nodded, then burst into tears.

Moonwatcher sat beside the table, a warm tea in her hand which was, in fact, heated herself, as Winter couldn't do it himself. It had been three years since they had last seen each other. Winter had grown significantly, physically and mentally, but still retained a bit of the old iciness of his youth. He finished cleaning the room up, then looked at her. "What are you doing here? You didn't explain anything at the door. You kinda left me hanging."  
Moonwatcher sighed. "It's something I don't want to talk about. I know you're confused, but trust me when I say I need to stay here for a bit."  
"Why? You're supposed to be living your life in Possibility with Qibli. You graduated from the Jade Academy, you saved the world by yourself, it shouldn't be hard. A job should be easy to find. So what  
are you doing here, in this dump?" A hint of resentment snaked into his speech.  
Moonwatcher sat there, looking down at her tea. "Like I said, it's… complicated, Winter… and I don't know if I want to talk about it."  
Winter turned around to face her completely, his eyes burning into her. "Well you better tell me, or else I might kick you out. You can't just walk into my life uninvited. You purposely walked out of it all that time ago. So I'll ask the question again; What are you doing here?"  
"I already told you, Winter, I don't want to talk about it. Just give me a day here. I just need someplace to stay for a bit. I'll tell you later."  
Winter snapped. "God-dammit Moon! You abandoned me years ago to live with that Sandwing! You left me! I've been living here without you for three years. Three! You disappeared from my life three years ago, and now you're running back here? Without a word? I don't care about anything, if you want to stay under my roof you better tell me what the hell is going on!" He yelled, anger and hurt in his eyes.  
A single tear trickled down Moon's eye, running through the little cracks of her scales. "It's Qibli."  
Winter wasn't expecting that at all. He stopped and looked at her. "What about Qibli?" As much as he sometimes hated the Sandwing, they had still formed a bond throughout the journey they went on together. He wondered what happened to him, and all sorts of dreadful things appeared in his mind. "Is he hurt?"  
"No, he's perfectly fine. In fact, he might be better than ever. It's me that's the problem."  
"Can you stop being so cryptic? What's the problem? Just spit it out." Winter said, resisting the urge to growl out the sentence.  
"You want the long story or the short?"  
"Short please, there's no way I can process a long story this late."  
"He's a bitch."  
Winter was shocked. Moon _never_ used such crude language. She hated it. She thought that the world was able to get by without using such hurtful words, it just wasn't like her to use it. And that was completely what Qibli _wouldn't_ do. "What?"  
"You heard me."  
Winter walked over to the simplistic table and sat down across from her. "I think I need to hear the long story. I think we both do."  
Moon put down her cup and nodded. "We had a fight. One night I went out with a friend of mine. Me and him were going to go watch a talonball tournament, nothing special." Talonball was a sport much like if soccer and a calmer football were combined. You can only use your talons, and the goal was suspended in the air. To stop someone, you'd have to knock the ball out of their claws, and grab it yourself. "Nothing special, just some hangout time with a friend of mine. But Qibli over-thought it. Just like always. He thought I was cheating on him, and once I got home, confronted me. Everything I said, he didn't believe. He was furious and distraught, thinking that I was abandoning him. He overreacted, however. And kicked me out of the house. He told me to never see him again. I tried to stop him, told him not to. He didn't listen to me. And the next thing I knew, it was just me outside and him inside." Moon said, trying not to cry at the recollection of the events that occurred. "He was so enraged…. I thought he was actually going to hurt me… I… I was scared…"  
Winter was taken back, trying to piece together everything she said. "Qibli kicked you out?..."  
"Yes."  
"Where is he?"  
"Still in Possibility. I told you. Why?"  
Winter stood up. "He's about to get his ass kicked by a certain Winter, Prince of the Icewings." He declared, hatred in his eyes.  
Moon reached out a paw. "Wait! Stop. Don't. Just let him go."  
Winter looked at her, confused. "Why? Don't you want to, you know, have a house back? It's not right to give up. What are you planning on doing?"  
Moon sighed. "I don't know. Head back to the rainforest? Maybe find a place there to stay until I'm more sure of myself."  
Winter sat back down. "Where? What would you do?"  
"Look Winter, I don't know! I'm… I… I don't know…" She faltered.  
It was then that Winter realized the severity of the situation. She was abandoned by her lover, accused of something she didn't do, and was without a home. And now she was here… with him. Winter decided to do something he almost never did. Apologize. "Moon… listen… I'm sorry for yelling at you. I'm sorry for hurting your feelings and being weird and confusing… I... I'm still confused. But I just wasn't expecting you to be here. And… well… also being an ass to you, to everyone. I… you know how I feel about you… you know?... I'm sorry, I'm just… I truly am sorry. I don't have anything else to say…"  
Moon softened as she heard the apology. "Winter… I'm sorry too. I should have sent a message or something ahead. And I'm sorry for how we turned out… how our relationship turned out. I… I didn't think you were this hurt."  
Winter nodded. A pause, and then, "Look Moon… I uh… if you want… you could stay here… my house will always be open for you." He told her, smiling nervously. They both knew what he was offering.  
Moon stood there. She opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it, before opening it again. "Winter… I can't say anything, not yet. I have no idea what I'm supposed to say, and what's good for the both of us. I just don't know… Give me some time. I need to think."  
Winter nodded, knowing he couldn't rush anything. He yawned. "Ok Moon… Well, I need to head to bed. I'm way too tired, and I have a lot to do tomorrow. There's a spare mattress in the closet over there, for tonight." He got up and walked to his bed, surprisingly close to them, and curled up in it. "Goodnight…" He muttered, closing his eyes. Moon sat there, drinking her tea late into the night. Once she finished she put the cup down and grabbed the mattress. She sighed. What has the world become? Moon laid down and closed her eyes, but did not yet go to sleep. She thought about the events of the past two days, and what would become. The most important question was whether or not she should take the offer. On one talon, she couldn't really accept the fact that Qibli threw her out. It was an accident, she assured herself. He still loved her, and somewhere she still harbor affection for him. But at the same time, she knew it could never go back to the way it was. He scarred her. Mentally. It was worse than she told Winter. More than just him kicking her out. Moon knew she couldn't go back. And she like Winter, she knew it. A decision was made. She would stay with Winter until she found a new place, officially moved in with him, or otherwise. It wasn't what she had hoped, but she hoped it was what she could deal with. She squeezed her eyes harder, trying to hold back the tears. She could do this. She could do this. She rolled over, and eventually fell into a deep sleep.

Moonwatcher woke up to the sound of Icewing claws scratching against the ground. She lifted her head up and saw Winter, walking over to his desk with what seemed to be a cup of coffee. Winter saw her wake up, and risked a smile. Moon nervously smiled back. Winter put down the cup. "I'm sorry for waking you up so early, but I usually start my work at dawn." His tone of voice seemed to be different than the night before. "You can go back to sleep if you want." He added.  
Moon shook her head. "It's fine. I didn't know you worked. What do you do?"  
"I guess it's more like studying." He corrected. "You know scavengers? I study them. For the past two years in fact. This circle of huts houses dragons who are very interested and show good working skills. Not exactly easy."  
That was a lot more information than she expected he'd give. "Wow… you're very dedicated. Have you found anything interesting yet?"  
Winter looked shocked. "Have I found anything? We've discovered so much in the past few years! Scavengers are so much smarter than we realized! We've been able to communicate advance topics with them! I think this is going places. I honestly think, maybe we can see them as more than just pets."  
Moon laughed, then turned serious. "I've been thinking about it. About last night, and about what I'll do… I've decided that I'm going to stay here… with you."  
A hint of surprise and relief appeared on Winter's face. "You are?"  
"Yes. I don't know for how long, or what I'll do… but I know I can't go back… and maybe things can start anew."  
Winter smiled, a sight rarely seen. "I'm... I'm glad. I don't know what will happen either, but I missed you." He put his wing over her back, the iciness almost pleasant to Moon in the makeshift hug of companionship. Moon looked up at Winter, and seemed to hesitate. Winter noticed it, and turned his head to her. Moonwatcher gathered her courage, extended her head to Winter, and kissed him on the cheek. "That's to make up for leaving you." She whispered. Winter was speechless. "Maybe it won't be that awful… especially with the prince of the Icewings as your roommate..."


End file.
